Hooked Rug with Lion
ca. 1860
Medium
Decorative Arts-Fiber
Classification
Decorative Arts-Fiber
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Accession Number
1986.65.347
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the cozy world of 19th American folk art with *Hooked Rug with Lion an anonymous creation from around 1860 now housed in the Smithsonian American Museum. Crafted by an unidentified American artist, this vibrant fiber work exemplifies the ingenuity of everyday makers during the Civil War era, when homemade textiles adorned rural homes and told stories through bold imagery. The central lion motif—a symbol of strength and majesty—likely draws from popular patterns or imagination, rendered in colorful wool strips for a striking, textured effect. Hooked rugs like this were made using a s...
About the Artist
Unidentified (American) ( ) · 1851 –1899
1851–1899